


Pirate Holiday

by nocturneequuis



Series: Story of Sabo [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Past Fic, advent calendar edit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 00:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturneequuis/pseuds/nocturneequuis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a trip into Goa, Sabo seems upset, but Ace can't figure out why. He can't really change Sabo's past. Nor can he change Sabo's feelings on the matter. But what he and Luffy want more than anything is to see their brother happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pirate Holiday

**Author's Note:**

> This is a slightly edited version of the fic that appeared in [It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2705831/chapters/6055382). I mainly re-posted it because I wanted to add it to this collection. Anyway, I hope you enjoy for the second time around- - or for the first time!

Ace darted through the alleyway, adjusting the brown bag that held his haul under his arm and vaulting over a crumbling brick wall into the connected alley beyond. He could hear the shouts of the peacekeepers boiling from a few streets beyond him and grinned. Bastards would never catch him. He picked up his speed just for the hell of it, going three alleys down and two over. Some adult with a ragged jacket and a knife loomed in his way, leering.

“Hey, kid, what’s yer hurr—”

Ace whacked the pipe into the man’s stomach, then jumped off his head as he crumpled, to land on a stone stairwell beyond it which he jogged down. Sabo was waiting there, crouched in a sheltered doorway. His own bag rested unopened by his feet. Sabo grinned as Ace came to a stop in front of him, his breath puffing in the chill air.

“What did you get?” Sabo said in a low voice. Ace looked over his shoulder and, seeing the way was clear, crouched in front of Sabo so his back would hide what they were doing from any passers by and opened his bag. It wasn’t bad. Some fifty thousand beri, a couple of gold pocket watches, a small cache of blue pearls he’d snicked right from the stand and seven rings.

“You were right about today,” Ace said. People were walking around more loaded than usual, with plenty of flashy jewelry, men and women alike.

“Great, right? I didn’t get that much.” He looked sheepish about it but Ace shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.” It wasn’t Sabo’s fault he’d had to stay in the lower quarter. With his asshole of a father prowling around in the richer places, he couldn’t afford to be seen. Ace was glad he hadn’t seen the guy himself or he’d be really tempted to put a pipe to his teeth.

“Where’s Luffy?” Sabo asked as Ace was tying up the bag. Ace looked up.

“I thought he was with you.”

“Me? Why would he be with me? I thought he was with _you_.”

There was a moment of silence then they both sighed at once, dropping their heads. Damn pest. Where the hell had he got off to?

“One day we’ve gotta get a leash,” Ace said, knotting the bag to the end of his pipe.

“He’d probably slip out of it.”

Ace grunted. Yeah. Slip out of it, or cry, or ask incessant questions, or try to fight them or whatever else it went through his head to do. Anyway, he wasn’t really serious. They were living free, so they couldn’t tie him up with ropes. They just  have to make do with trying to find their dumb little brother when he wandered off and punching him in the head so he wouldn’t do it again.

“We should probably find him before someone else does,” Sabo said, scratching his cheek. More shouts from the peacekeepers and as much as it had made Ace laugh before, now annoyed him just as much.

“I kind of got spotted,” he said, folding his arms. Not that they could usually just walk around this area as they were in any case, but with those guys out in force, they’d have to be doubly careful.

“Let’s hurry,” Sabo said, pulling the long cloak from his bag. They tied Sabo’s loot to his own pipe and Ace held them both as Sabo climbed onto his shoulders and tied the cloak around his neck. The cloak puddled and dragged on the ground around them. Man, they were really gonna stand out.

“You need to grow more,” Sabo said. Ace scowled.

“You do, too,” he said, pinching Sabo’s leg. He wasn’t that short anyway. If Sabo was a little taller the cloak would be off the ground!

“Ow! Knock it off!” Sabo knocked him in the head. Ace was fighting the temptation to knock the back of his head into Sabo’s stomach when he heard the peacekeepers again, this time the sound of their feet on the ground.

“Let’s get going,” he said. Sabo nodded and wrapped the coat around them, cloaking Ace in darkness. He could see a little through the small slit, but only enough to know where he was going and not trip on anything or bump into anyone.

 They’d better find Luffy soon because if they got caught or lost their loot, Ace was gonna be pissed. If someone had hurt Luffy, he was going to be even more pissed. He tried not to move too quickly, though his legs were burning to kick something, and instead held onto the pipes with one hand and Sabo’s leg with the other.

“There he is,” Sabo murmured. “Go left.”

“What is he doing? Idiot brat,” Ace said under his breath as he followed Sabo’s directions. When he saw Luffy, his baby brother was sitting on the outskirts of a bunch of other kids, looking scruffy and out of place, which made Ace feel a sting of pride. Ace pulled aside the cloak a tiny bit to see what Luffy was watching so intently. A fancy stage had been set up with even fancier puppets playing in front of deep red curtains. The puppets were two rich looking people, flashing with sequins and fake jewels, talking about a little white and black square hanging above them in squeaky voices. It seemed to be really important to them and the one gestured to it with a small carved hand and said that this would be the start of a great adventure.

Sabo nudged his shoulder and Ace realized he’d stopped and was even leaning forward a bit. He let the cloak fall back in place and moved them closer. There was an exciting chiming sound from the stage and the puppets gasped. Ace wanted to know, but as he came to loom over Luffy he noticed most of the kids, who were starting to eye them strangely, were Luffy’s age and promptly decided he didn’t care.

Much.

Sabo cleared his throat and said in a deep voice.

“It’s time to go home.”

Luffy didn’t look back. Even more kids were looking now and probably noticing how much the cloak puddled on the ground. One or two of them giggled and pointed. This is not the kind of attention they needed to be attracting right now. Ace moved a little closer to Luffy, then risked a quick kick to Luffy’s butt. That got his attention.

“Hey!” he said, so loud even the puppet show stopped. Then turned and looked at them, breaking into a wide stupid grin. “Hey, guys, this show is awesome!”

If Ace had a hand free to facepalm he would. Even as it was he was tempted to kick Luffy in the butt again. What was the point of being in disguise if Luffy let everyone know there were two of them?

“That’s good,” Sabo said in a measured low voice, but Ace could hear a weird strain in it. “But it’s time to go home.”

“The show’s not done!”

Booted feet rang across the cobbles, getting closer. Damn those Peacekeepers. Even just by hearing them they were probably too close. He gritted his teeth, before reaching out and snagging Luffy’s arm,turning quickly and nearly tripping on the cloak as he tried to stride away. Sabo yelped and nearly lost his balance, but clung on by grabbing Ace’s hair.

“Ow!”

“Sorry,” Sabo said.

“But it’s a really cool show!” Luffy protested as Ace pulled at him. “It has a king and some pirates.”

Pirates?

No. Now wasn’t the time.

“Shut up,” Ace hissed, shaking his arm. And then: “Tell us later.”

Luffy just grinned his big stupid grin but shut up thankfully as they ducked into an alley. There was some reshuffling of places as Ace took the top spot, sitting on Luffy’s small squashy shoulders with Sabo grunting at the bottom.

Though as they went out at a slower pace, he wished he was the one walking still so they could hurry up. He really wanted to know that story had been about.

 

~ooo~

 

“So there was this king, right?” Luffy said as they walked through the Grey Terminal toward home. “Hey, we’re going to have lunch soon, aren’t we?”

“Of course we’re going to have lunch, stupid,” Ace said, annoyed. “Don’t just stop at the beginning of the story.”

“Okay. So there was this king right? And every winter he kept getting attacked by bandits cuz it was really dark and they could sneak in.”

“Sounds like fun,” Ace said, smirking. Luffy picked up a wheel and started rolling it under his hand as he walked.

“Yeah! Except they would murder people and stuff and no one could do anything about it. And he was really sad. Then one day this bandit showed up.”

“It wasn’t a bandit,” Sabo said in a low voice. “It was a god.” Ace glanced at him and was surprised to see his brother’s shadowed face. He’d been kind of in a weird mood since they’d left Goa. Ace didn’t know what it meant but he didn’t like it.

“Ehh? He seemed like a bandit,” Luffy said.

“Can’t argue that,”  Sabo said, again with that weird glum tone. Ace glanced at him again but still couldn’t guess and then at Luffy who was looking at Sabo and then at Ace with big eyes, as if expecting Ace to have an answer. Well he didn’t. But if Sabo didn’t snap out of it or tell them what was bothering him, Ace was gonna punch him.

“Who cares what he was?” Ace said, folding his arms behind his head. “What happened next?”

“Um…the god bandit showed up and he had a whole bunch of paper lights and food and presents and stuff cuz everyone was pretty poor and hungry…but to get it the King had to go on an adventure and get something. So he did and came back but the god bandit gave him only one light and one food and one present and said he had to go on another adventure and come back again. And he’d have to do it for every light he wanted.”

“He sounds like an asshole,” Ace grumbled. Luffy nodded.

“I wanted to punch him!” and he smacked his tiny fist into his tiny hand. Ace grinned and mushed his stupid straw hat down over his head.

“Sounds good, Lu. A puppet is about your speed.”

“Hey you take that back, jerk!” Luffy said,  kicking at his ankles.  Ace avoided him easily.

“Take what back? You can’t even lay a hit on me,” Ace said, moving behind Luffy and screwing his knuckles against Luffy’s temples. “With a puppet you might have a chance.”

“I’ll kick your butt, Ace!” Luffy said, flailing around and then jumping up and managing to clock Ace’s chin with his hardass head. Ace scowled and kicked him in the butt sending bouncing against a torn mattress.

“You couldn’t even kick your own butt,” Ace said with a laugh. Luffy twisted on the mattress, scowling at him, then pushed his hat down and pulled his arm back.

“Gum Gum no Pistol!” he shouted. Ace moved easily out of the way and grabbed the arm before Luffy could pull it back.

“Hey, Sabo! Wanna tie him to a tree and use him as bear bait?”

“What? Nooo!” Luffy said, trying to pull his arm back.

“Or maybe use him to knock down bee hives!”

But Luffy didn’t react. He was looking at something over Ace’s shoulder.

“Sabo,” Luffy murmured. Then: “Oi, Sabo!”

Ace looked, too, and saw him walking away, and probably had been walking since Ace had stopped considering how far he was. Ace clenched his teeth, something hot lighting in his belly. What was this about? Why was he still going even when they were calling for him. He wasn’t going to go chasing after him.

“Sabo!” Ace snapped and when he still didn’t turn around, picked up a rock and chucked it at his head. It thwocked him in the back of the neck. That got his attention. He stumbled, hat falling to the ground and turned, clutching the back of his neck.

“Ah! What the hell did you do that for?” Sabo snapped.

“Where the hell are you going?” he snapped back.

“Ace was calling you!” Luffy said, that big mouth. He _had_ been, but that wasn’t the point.

“Oh…” Sabo rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Sorry, I didn’t hear.”

Okay that was it. Ace tromped over to Sabo and started to pull at his stupid cheeks.

“Agh! Cut it out!” Sabo said, pulling at Ace’s cheeks back.

“Tell us what’s wrong already, you idiot!” Ace snarled.

“Are you scared of puppets?” Luffy piped up. “They have people’s hands inside them, you know. Makino showed me.” 

“I’m not afraid of puppets,” Sabo said, shoving Ace’s hands away. “I just…” he sighed. “I just don’t like the holiday it’s about.”

“Oooh,” Luffy said. Then raised his hand. “What’s a holiday?”

“It’s another way to say festival, stupid,” Ace said, and because he was still a little mad, popped Luffy on the head.

“Hey!” Luffy said grumpily, stuffing his hat on his head and glowering. Ace ignored him. Sabo scratched his cheek.

“Actually I think holidays and festivals are different. Maybe holidays are longer?”

“What happens in it?” Luffy said, asking all the dumb questions Ace wanted to know but didn’t want to ask to find out.

“Eh, you know… People hang up paper lanterns and have feasts and give presents and stuff.” Sabo said it like it was no big deal, but Ace thought it was pretty exciting. He kept his mouth in a serious line but Luffy seemed to have expanded as Sabo spoke, his mouth widening in a huge smile and stars dancing in his eyes.

“It sounds awesome!” Luffy crowed. “Hey! Let’s go do it!”

“No, it’s not awesome!” Sabo said. “It’s stupid. It sounds great but it isn’t.”

“Why not? Do you not get lights or presents or meat?”

“Well yeah you get those things but…”

“So I wanna do it!” Luffy punched both fists in the air. “Let’s have fun!”

“You can’t do it, Luffy!” Sabo said, his own hands balling into fists and Ace let his arms drop to his sides, feeling tension rise in the air.

“I wanna do it!”

“You _can_ _’t_.”

“Why not?!”

“Because you’re not a noble!” Sabo shouted. Silence fell. Luffy stared at him. Man, this ran _deep_. Ace didn’t really know why Sabo wouldn’t like such a cool thing, but that didn’t matter. He briefly checked up on Luffy whose head was down and his fists trembling, then picked up Sabo’s hat, brushing off the top and carefully setting it back on his head. He didn’t know what to say about it but maybe saying nothing was okay. After a moment, Sabo relaxed, but didn’t raise his head.

“Luffy…” Sabo said.

“It sounds cool…” Luffy said in a voice that sounded like he was going to cry. Ace sighed. This wasn’t something to cry about, he wanted to say. It was because Sabo was hurt, not because he wanted to hurt anyone.

“Yeah…it does,” Sabo said with a false smile. “Haha man I got pretty weird there huh? Who cares about nobles right? We can do it if we want.”

“It sounds cool… but I don’t want to do it if you hate it, Sabo!” Luffy said, then sniffed hard and wiped his eyes. “I don’t want you to be mad!”

“Come on, now, I’m not mad,” Sabo said, holding up his hands but seeming relieved all the same. Ace smiled. Couldn’t help it really.

“Really?” Luffy looked up at Sabo. “Not mad or sad or anything?”

“What? No way. I’m fine.”

Ace shifted the pipe to the back of his neck, hanging his hands over it and walked away so he wouldn’t have to pop Luffy one for crying like a baby, even if he was smiling at the same time.

“That makes me happy!” Luffy said.

“Alright, okay,” Sabo said with a laugh.

“If you losers don’t hurry up I’m going to eat all the lunch without you,” Ace said, because enough was damn well enough.

“No way! Wait up!” Luffy bellowed and came running up to his side. Sabo caught up on his other side. He didn’t look angry anymore, but he didn’t seem alright either. Well, maybe some time away from the city would help.

 

~ooo~

 

Luffy was up to something. What, Ace wasn’t so sure about, but he’d set something heavy on the trapdoor of the treehouse and demanded that no one come in. He’d wanted to come in anyway just to spite him, but there was something about being yelled at by a seven-year-old with paper bits glued to his face that made him stay put.

Instead he rested against the curve of a branch, chewing on a maple twig and glancing at the swollen white clouds. It was gonna snow again soon. He could smell it in the air. There was the thunk of metal against earth and he looked down to see Sabo still sitting where he’d placed himself when they’d decided to wait it out. The pipe that had been propped up against the tree had fallen. Sabo sat with his chin on his knees, making no move to pull it up, and maybe not even know it had fell.

He’d been in this kind of mood for a few days now. Ace chewed the stick. Ace understood it, but it still pissed him off. He wanted to hurt anyone who had made Sabo like this, but he had a sense there wasn’t something he could hurt and that was even more annoying.

Ace jumped down and sat next to him. Sabo didn’t even glance at him and that was just _really_ annoying. What was it with him and ignoring people who were trying to make him feel better.

“Tch.” Ace leaned back against the tree, grinding the twig in his teeth. “How long are you gonna whine about this shit, Sabo?”

“Oh shut up, Ace,” Sabo said with a long sigh, thumping his own back against a tree. “You wouldn’t understand something like this.”

“Sorry for being out of your league,” Ace said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and closing his eyes so he wouldn’t look at Sabo and want to throttle him.

“What? Where did you— I didn’t— Argh. Okay, I’m sorry. But you haven’t _been_ through it, alright?”

“No, you’re right.” Ace opened his eyes and glared up through the tangle of skeleton branches. “I don’t have a damned clue. But I don’t care about it either.”

“Well _I_ care about it!” Sabo snapped.

“Then you’re an idiot,” Ace said.

“I am not! Stop talking like it doesn’t matter!” Sabo said, balling his hand into a fist.

“It doesn’t.”

Sabo made a strangled angry noise and threw a punch at him. Ace grabbed his wrist before it could connect and turned his head to spit the stick out before looking Sabo in the eyes.

“Why does it matter? Tell me! You’re not a noble anymore! You’re a pirate. You’re my brother. _Our_ brother. Who cares what those assholes did? You’re _free_ now, aren’t you?”

“I know that! I know but…” Sabo clenched his teeth and scrubbed his hand over his face. Then he seemed to slump a little and knocked his fist against his forehead. “I’m being dumb. I know. I keep telling myself that but I can’t make myself believe it. Stupid, huh?”

It was— It was deep. Ace wanted to _do_ something about it. To say something or— get him into a fight so he’d forget about it or— or hell he didn’t know. He just wanted to make it better. To erase the history that hurt him like that. Ace let go of him and folded his arms.

“Yeah well if you’re going to be sad about it, don’t do it around me.” That might make Sabo work harder to— to—not feel those things maybe or something. He didn’t know!

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind,” Sabo said, and Ace had the feeling he’d failed somewhere, somehow. Maybe even made it worse. He clenched his hands a little. Why couldn’t he do it right? Why couldn’t he fix it? Was there really something wrong with him?

Well, maybe that’s just who he was. Someone who could be rough and scary and not much else, but he had to be himself as hard as he could because that was his own dream and freedom. To prove to everyone that— that it didn’t matter what they thought.

Except it kind of mattered with Sabo.

He passed a hand over his forehead, twisting his fingers in his hair and stared at the ground. Shit shit shit. Why couldn’t he just say the right things to the people that mattered?

“I don’t like to see you upset either, dipshit,” he finally managed, his own voice hoarse.

“I know…” Sabo said, a voice of defeat. But then a little brighter. “You said a nice thing, Ace. I’m proud.”

“Shut up,” Ace said, swinging a punch at him. Sabo grinned and dodged out of the way, holding onto his hat. Ace smirked a little. That was a little better.

A gigantic crash from above made him leap to his feet in alarm, grabbing the pipe. There was nothing huge coming after him, but there was a puff of dust coming from the tree house window.

“Oi, Luffy!” he called out. “You idiot! What are you doing up there?”

“It’s okay!” Luffy called. “Come up now!” and there was a loud scrape like something being moved. Ace looked at Sabo, who shrugged. Ace glanced up at the tree house again, not sure if he even wanted to know— but might as well.

Steeling himself, he climbed up and pushed open the trap door into…well…an art explosion…sort of. Papers with scribbles of weird faces plastered the walls and there were chains of cutout…things…hanging along the walls, one of the chains falling down. There was a sake bottle sitting on the table with their cups around it and bowls filled with something that was either chocolate pudding or mud.

Luffy was standing on the rock he must have hauled up to the treehouse to block the door. His face was bruised and smudged with grass and dirt and there were cuts all over his fingers and a trail of black paint across his nose. He was proudly holding up a scrap of sail cloth with the words:

‘Pyrat ~~Partee~~ Holeedaye’ written on it.

“Shishishi It’s a party!” Luffy said with a gigantic grin. “I mean…a holiday!”

“Great job, Lu,” said Sabo with a kind of smile that showed he wasn’t sure what to think about it either. “Uh…what are these?” and he pointed at the faces on the wall.

“Pirate flags!” Luffy said.

They barely looked human. Ace wondered over to the pudding and stared into the cups. He was kind of hungry but the eternal question. Mud or chocolate. Mud or chocolate. Luffy could have gotten chocolate from Dadan or Makino, so that was always a possibility.

“And those?” Sabo said, pointing to the cut outs.

“Skull and cross bones!” said Luffy proudly. Was that what they were? Ace twisted his mouth to the side in thought and decided to take the risk. He stuck his finger in the putting and then put it in his mouth.

Damnit.

“Pudding?” Sabo asked.

“Mud!” Luffy said brightly.

Ace felt a vein popping on his head. _He couldn_ _’t have said that before?_

“Is it tasty, Ace?” Sabo said, sounding on the verge of cracking up.

“Hahaha You’re not supposed to eat it, dummy!” Luffy said, pointing at him and laughing. “It’s just pretend!”

Cracking their heads together felt _really_ good.

Ace dusted off his hands and sat at the table, taking a careful sniff of the sake bottle. It smelled a little like sake but when he took a careful taste, realized it was water. Oh well.

“Are we going to party or what?” he said cheerfully, pouring the water for all of them.

“Ace you’re mean,” Luffy croaked.

“Really mean,” Sabo said. Ace glowered at them where they were still sitting on the floor, clutching their heads.

“Shut up, you pansies!” he snapped.

“I’m not a pansy, Portgas!” Sabo said, rising to his feet, hands into fists.

“Me either!” Luffy said in a matching pose. Ace snorted and looked away, taking a sip of the water.

“Whatever. You’d both cry over cereal.”

They tackled him.

A few minutes later Ace was sprawled on the floor, covered in bruises and mud Luffy’s foot in his face and Sabo somehow sprawled over his legs. The cut out streamer thing had fallen and some of the papers had come off the walls. One of their bowls was broken but all the sake cups were pristine and red as ever.

“I hate all of you,” Sabo grumbled, rolling off him and half crawling to the table. Ace joined him, grabbing Luffy by the leg and maneuvering around the broken bowl, took him to where his cup was and let his leg drop before sitting in front of his own.

“I think I got mud in my shirt,” Luffy said, sitting up and peering down.

“You’ve got mud everywhere,” Sabo said with a laugh.

So did Sabo.

So did he.

Man, if this was pirate life, it was the only kind of life for him.

“Great holiday, Luffy,” Ace said, raising his cup.

“Yep!” Sabo grinned. “Best holiday.” He raised his cup. “To Pirate Day!”

“Pirate Day!” Ace said.

“Pirate Day!” Luffy said.

They clicked the sake bowls together and drank. 


End file.
